Reviews by dpend:

Appearance is a deep brown with tinges of red. Has a thick nutty head that dissipates relatively quickly.Aroma is sweet caramel malt. A bit of chocolate is present in both smell and taste.With a bit more hop kick, this beer would taste like a porter.I'm liking this beer a lot and have found myself going back to it again and again. (348 characters)

More User Reviews:

By far my favorite beer from Shipyard,pours a deep ruby with a light but sticky head,aroma is nice malty sweet and chocolaty.Taste is right up my alley with a nice malty flavor with some sweetness with some roated flavors its a real warmer.Liked it much better on cask than in the bottle.Would like to have again on cask.. (322 characters)

Poured from a 22oz bottle, this was a dark red/brown color with a thick coffee-colored head. It had a malty aroma with a tinge of dark fruit. Decent taste, coffee, fruit, a little hops. I thought the beer was a little thin, but still was quite enjoyable. (254 characters)

Presentation: 12 oz. brown long neck. Faded violet label with a head pic of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. No freshness date.

Appearance: Dark ruby with a very light tan frothy head.

Smell: Esters, ripe fruit and butterscotch perfume from this brew.

Taste: Hints of roasted, light chocolate and ripe fruit up front, then a slightly assertive hop bitterness, touch of butter, faint smoke/charcoal and a warming alcohol presence. In the after is some caramel and lingering hop bitterness that finishes quite nice.

Notes: Very much like a porter with some scotch ale qualities, quite a big ale ... beautiful for dismal winter days of snow, ice, sleet, freezing rain, hail, slush and so on. (695 characters)

Pours deep, dark, clear mahogany with a small and fragile tan head. Decent lacing is left on the glass. ]

The spice level is near perfect and well-balanced. While evident in the nose [4.25] and obvious up front upon tasting, the spicing slowly fades after the finish eventually leaving a chocolate malt to dominate the aftertaste. Sweet and bitter largely in balance, but a tad too sour. No burnt flavors, but a hint of smoke in the finish. High complexity and good balance make every sip seem a little different than the one before. At various times, dark fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, English hops and several other flavors make appearances. Plenty of dark chocolate in the nose and flavor.

M: near full body with rather lively carbonation. I suspect I'd prefer a bit less carbonation; a suspicion supported by the fact that the mouth feel improves after the beer has been in the glass for a while. Semi-dry finish.

Creamy tan head, deep brown/blackish colour, lacing. Aroma is fruity, roasted, chocolate, coffee. Flavour is malty, roasted, coffee, light bitterness in the aftertaste. Flavour is actually a bit watery and the mouthfeel is neither good or bad it's only average. This beer looked very promising, smellt the same but the flavour and mouthfeel was very disappointing to me. But it could be worse it is still worth having a go at. (426 characters)

This pours a very dark reddish brown with a tan foamy head. The smell has some fruit,prune or raisin, aroma too it,but this scent is not very strong. The taste is very good with a strong presence of coffee and especially malt roastyness and sweetness. The m/f is medium with aftertaste that is just abit too watery and weak. Overall, this is a damn good beer and if the aroma was stronger this could be a rated much higher. (423 characters)

Pours a hazy brown body with a light reddish cast and deep mahogany highlights. It's two-fingered, frothy, light-tan head slowly drops to a quarter-inch of creamy surface covering amongst some very nice lace. A pleasing nose expresses caramel, toffee, mild butterscotch, and a berry-like/apple fruitiness. The body is firm with a fine, moderate carbonation that gently caresses the tongue before becoming creamy and smooth across the palate. In the mouth, rich notes of caramelized sugar and butterscotch are tempered by a mild chocolate character and roasty edge. Some almost-tropical fruitiness appears at the outset, and then again midway through the mouth after the sweetness and buttery notes have passed, but gives way to a drying roasty cusp and bold (but balanced) bitterness. Some alcohol is clearly present, but it works well within the blanket of malt and seems more warming/comforting than intrusive. It finishes dry with some mild lingering caramel and bitterness. This is an exceptionally well-rounded winter beer that seems to straddle several styles and I love it for it's individuality and uniqueness. It has the unobtrusive bitterness and buttery diacetyl note of a brown ale; the fuller chocolatey/caramel note of a porter; and the rich maltiness of a Scotch ale. It's not so strong or full, however, that it needs to be set aside as an after-dinner drink; and it's surely a winter gem that could grace any festive table. Well worth trying! (1,459 characters)

Winter seasonals are my favorite, so seeing this at the local watering hole sparked my interest. It poured nice and dark, with that chocolate coloured head. The first drink bursted in my mouth with the taste of roasted hops. It seemed more a stout than an ale, but I wasn't complaining. It went down way to quick. Excellent. (324 characters)

Black, opaque in the middle with reddish highlights around the edges, massive long-lasting brunette head, bulky lace. Pleasant malty, chocolate, slightly fruity-alcoholic nose of modest strength. Decent palate, dry chocolate, chalky; the malt seems thin and not very sweet either, the alcohol influence is minimal. The flavors all seem a little empty. The body is medium-light, the carbonation is moderate the finish is dull and empty. As the beer warmed nothing improved... aside from a few stray notes of fruitiness on the palate. This did not taste like a Strong Ale/Barely Wine at all; it seemed very much like a Dry Stout. I guess my tastebuds did not concur with my fellow BAs on this one? Either way, a big thank you is in order for StevieW for the bomber, it was a solid brew. (786 characters)

In the pint glass the beer presented itself a very dark brown, almost black, with a 1/2" head. Lacing was left as the head receded. Smells of roasted malt, and slightly of coffee. Tastes of sweet malt, a little coffee, and maybe some dark fruit flavors. Some hop presence in the background, finishes dry. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side. Smooth with crisp carbonation. Easy to drink. Very tastey brew. (402 characters)

Rich chocolate color. Smell invites you to drink. Taste has a hint of chocolate and announces that this is a beer to sip. A bit of a bite that grabs your taste buds and lingers....tart but refreshing. Mouthfeel is neat, reminding you that this is a graet beer to sip.
Drinkability is excellent, but don't gulp! (311 characters)

Pours a lovely dark reddish brown with decent head. Smells include roasted malts, coffee and just a touch of chocolate. Taste is a bit underwhelming with the roasted malts making up the main body of the flavor with hints of fruits (plum and apple) showing up in the end. This is a tastey brew that has its' moments. Good not great. (331 characters)

From the 12 fl. oz. bottle with an expiration date of June 2014. Sampled on December 7, 2013.

It is mainly brown in color with a modest off-white head that lingers briefly. Moderate lacing.

The aroma is Shipyard's Ringwood yeasts and then everything else. The everything else includes dark caramel malts but little to no hop or spice note (for a Winter).

The body is light to medium but overall very smooth.

The taste has a mild sweetness at first followed by a low bitterness. This does not have the coffee esters one comes to expect from today's Porter's but I bet this is the way the English brewed it way back when. (623 characters)